Second meeting of the EU-Georgia Joint Research and Innovation Committee under Horizon Europe

The second EU-Georgia Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) under the Horizon Europe Association Agreement took place in Brussels on 26 June 2023 under the co-chairmanship of Ms. Ruta Zarnauskaite, Head of Unit of the Horizon Europe Association Unit, European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and Kakha Khandolishvili, Head of International Relations and Strategic Development Department, Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and in the presence of Director-General Marc Lemaitre, Directorate General for Research and Innovation European Commission and Dr. Giorgi Amilakhvari, Minister of Education and Science of Georgia. The meeting was attended by high-level Georgian officials from the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Internally displaced people from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, , Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation, the National Horizon Europe Office Georgia, Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) and EU officials from DGs RTD, NEAR, JRC, EAC, the Executive Agencies EISMEA and ERCEA and from the EU Delegation to Georgia.

As stated in the opening remarks by Director-General Marc Lemaitre, the European Commission acknowledged the European aspirations and the European choice of Georgia and congratulated Georgia for applying for EU membership. He underlined that the European Commission remains strongly committed to work closely with Georgia in the field of research and innovation. Georgia is very dedicated to continue its excellent R&I cooperation with the European Union and to integrate further into the European Research Area while making a good use of its associated status under Horizon Europe. The Minister underlined that the association to Horizon Europe is an excellent opportunity for Georgian researchers and innovators. 

Both sides also emphasised the significance of the excellent EU-Georgia R&I cooperation, which builds on fundamental R&I values, such as academic freedom, gender equality, diversity, research ethics, open science and evidence-based policymaking. In the course of the meeting, the EU Chair stressed the various opportunities the new biannual Work Programme offers to intensify Georgian and European researchers and innovators’ participation in Horizon Europe funded projects. She further recalled the European Research Area Policy Agenda and the European Innovation Agenda’s key priorities and objectives and invited Georgia to play an active role in the ERA Forum and Innovation Valleys’ creation.

During the meeting special attention was paid to cooperation under specific Horizon Europe actions including Energy efficiency and green transition in Horizon Europe. The Georgian side presented its national Horizon Europe State Programme as well as their Open Science Policy. Further, Georgia stressed the importance of association during the JCM

The high-level meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both sides to strong R&I cooperation between the EU and Georgia.

More information

International cooperation with Georgia